QUESTION: In elderly people living in residential and nursing homes, can a behavioural intervention by a geriatric mental
health outreach team improve cognitive function, depression, behavioural problems, and functional disability?

Intervention

Residential or nursing homes were matched by size and accreditation status. 1 home in each of the 6 pairs was randomised to
the intervention and the other to a control group. In the intervention group, staff attended seven 1 hour seminars on topics
that they had identified as important (eg, management of aggression, screaming). A mental health nurse also visited the homes
weekly to help staff to develop care planning skills.

Main results

After adjustment for baseline variables, residents in the intervention group had improved scores in cognitive function (p=0.002)
and depression (p=0.004) but not in behavioural problems or functional disability compared with no intervention (table).

Conclusion

In elderly people living in residential or nursing homes, a behavioural intervention by a geriatric mental health outreach
team improved cognitive function and depression but not behavioural problems or functional disability.

Commentary

Research on behavioural interventions provides evidence that controlled behaviour management techniques can improve many of
the psychiatric, behavioural, and physiological problems of the elderly.12 This study by Proctor et al is timely given the current emphasis on community based care and the massive growth of the elderly population in today's
society.

The results are relevant to care providers of elderly people who live in residential or nursing homes. Investigators frequently
cite the need to develop and provide on-site training programmes for nurses on the use of behavioural techniques.34 In this study, staff education was supplemented with weekly visits by a mental health nurse, who provided advice and support;
the nurse was able to reinforce the knowledge obtained in the seminar and serve as a mentor to change nursing care practices.
We must keep in mind, however, that follow up was only 6 months, and we do not know if the intervention had a long term effect
after withdrawal of the intervention.

It is difficult to know why only depression and organic functioning were significantly changed in this study. The sample size
may have been too small to detect significant effects on function and behaviour. Little information was provided on the education
programme and the specific types of consultation services. Future studies should assess the fit between specific aspects of
the intervention (eg, education topics and specific types of consultation services) and patient outcomes.

Behavioural interventions such as this have the potential to improve not only the quality of care delivered in residential
homes but also the job satisfaction of nurses.